OUR FAMILY LAND IN JACKSON COUNTY, KANSAS
Since many of our family lived in Kansas at this period of time I thought it would be interesting to see how justice was handed out in the late 1800's.
Henry Sanderson, the young farmer, who attempted to murder his sweetheart, Myrtle Fleischer, near Mayetta, Kansas, Sunday afternoon, instead wounded Mrs. John Fleischer, her aunt, who was at her side. The aunt died at 2 o'clock the next morning. Henry was lynched during the early hours of the morning by a mob from Mayetta.
Although nominally in Sheriff George N. Hoss' hands, Sanderson was under the guard of one man in a backroom of Nate Horr's restaurant. This was for two reasons: during Sanderson's attempt to escape immediately after shooting Mrs. Fleischer, he started to extract some shells from his Winchester, and one accidentally exploded, shattering his right arm. Again there had been a jail delivery a few nights before, and the prison was not considered safe.
About 2 o'clock this morning, Nate Horr, keeper of the restaurant, alone on night duty, was surprised by two men armed with revolvers, who demanded Sanderson. At the same moment men burst in the back door of the restaurant with drawn revolvers. The single guard was simply paralyzed with fear and made no resistance. Sanderson was lying in bed asleep, but was awakened by the noise. Without a protest Sanderson arose and partially dressed.
The mob with Sanderson marched to Bonner Creek (Rock Island Railroad Bridge), tied rope around his neck, and fastened the other end to a beam. They then gave him a kick and with a few convulsive jerks Sanderson was dead. His neck was disjointed by the fall of 12 feet, and death must have come almost instantly. The mob then quietly dispersed. The body was cut down by Sheriff Hoss about 5 o'clock in the morning and taken to a local undertaking establishment. None of the mob are known by the officials? The Sheriff, was warned that a mob would be in the city during the night, but no precautions to protect the prisoner were taken.
Myrtle was my grandmother's younger sister. The murdered girl was the wife of John Fleischer, my great great uncle. Sanderson was also distantly related to us. The story was written up in many newspaper including The New York Times and the Deseret News.
Henry Sanderson, the young farmer, who attempted to murder his sweetheart, Myrtle Fleischer, near Mayetta, Kansas, Sunday afternoon, instead wounded Mrs. John Fleischer, her aunt, who was at her side. The aunt died at 2 o'clock the next morning. Henry was lynched during the early hours of the morning by a mob from Mayetta.
Although nominally in Sheriff George N. Hoss' hands, Sanderson was under the guard of one man in a backroom of Nate Horr's restaurant. This was for two reasons: during Sanderson's attempt to escape immediately after shooting Mrs. Fleischer, he started to extract some shells from his Winchester, and one accidentally exploded, shattering his right arm. Again there had been a jail delivery a few nights before, and the prison was not considered safe.
About 2 o'clock this morning, Nate Horr, keeper of the restaurant, alone on night duty, was surprised by two men armed with revolvers, who demanded Sanderson. At the same moment men burst in the back door of the restaurant with drawn revolvers. The single guard was simply paralyzed with fear and made no resistance. Sanderson was lying in bed asleep, but was awakened by the noise. Without a protest Sanderson arose and partially dressed.
The mob with Sanderson marched to Bonner Creek (Rock Island Railroad Bridge), tied rope around his neck, and fastened the other end to a beam. They then gave him a kick and with a few convulsive jerks Sanderson was dead. His neck was disjointed by the fall of 12 feet, and death must have come almost instantly. The mob then quietly dispersed. The body was cut down by Sheriff Hoss about 5 o'clock in the morning and taken to a local undertaking establishment. None of the mob are known by the officials? The Sheriff, was warned that a mob would be in the city during the night, but no precautions to protect the prisoner were taken.
Myrtle was my grandmother's younger sister. The murdered girl was the wife of John Fleischer, my great great uncle. Sanderson was also distantly related to us. The story was written up in many newspaper including The New York Times and the Deseret News.
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